In ''[[The Book of Lost Tales Part Two]]'' a legend among [[Men]] exists concerning dragons. Whoever tastes the heart of a dragon and can withstand its poisonous blood "would know all tongues of Gods or Men, of birds or beasts, and his ears would catch whispers of the Valar or of Melko".<ref>{{LT2|II}}, p. 85</ref>

In ''[[The Book of Lost Tales Part Two]]'' a legend among [[Men]] exists concerning dragons. Whoever tastes the heart of a dragon and can withstand its poisonous blood "would know all tongues of Gods or Men, of birds or beasts, and his ears would catch whispers of the Valar or of Melko".<ref>{{LT2|II}}, p. 85</ref>

Dragons also known as the Great Worms were evil creatures seen mostly in the northern Middle-earth. They were greedy, cunning, seductive and malicious, probably a creation by Morgoth out of fire and sorcery sometime in the First Age.

History

The origin and early history of dragons

Seeing the strength of the Noldor in battle, Melkor realized that orcs alone were not sufficient to defeat his enemies. He therefore began to breed a new race of monsters: the dragons.[4][note 1]

The Father of Dragons was Glaurung, a mighty worm with a fearful intelligence and a powerful hypnotic gaze. Glaurung played an integral part in the fate of the Children of Húrin. Among his many crimes were the destruction of the Elf-realm of Nargothrond and a spell cast upon Nienor which stripped her of her memory. This eventually led her to a disastrous reunion and marriage to her long-lost brother Túrin. When Nienor learned the truth of Glaurung's plot, she flung herself to her death. Glaurung was finally slain by Túrin, who afterward committed suicide in reaction to Glaurung's plot.

During the War of Wrath, Morgoth unleashed a new terror upon Middle-earth -- the winged dragons. Chief among these was Ancalagon the Black. Eventually slain by Eärendil the Mariner, Ancalagon's fall crushed the towers of Thangorodrim. Many of the dragons were destroyed in the War of Wrath but some fled and survived into the later Ages.

Dragons after the First Age

It would appear that the dragons fled to the Northern Waste, far from the lands of Men and Elves. Over the centuries, the race of dragons continued to breed and repopulate, particularly in the Withered Heath, an area in between two spurs of the Grey Mountains.

The most fearsome dragon of the Third Age was Smaug, who laid waste to the Dwarf-realm of Erebor and the nearby town of Dale. This devastated the area and sent Durin's folk into exile. Smaug remained in the abandoned halls of the Lonely Mountain for many years until the coming of Thorin and Company and their "burglar", the hobbitBilbo Baggins. This began a chain of events that led to Smaug's death at the hands of Bard the Bowman.

Although Smaug was the greatest of the dragons of his day,[7] he seems not to have been the last of his kind as Gandalf told Frodo that "there is not now any dragon left on earth in which the old fire is hot enough [to melt the Rings of Power]",[8] indicating the presence of other, lesser dragons.[9]

Characteristics

The dragons were huge and longeval, with their lives spanning centuries. They shared a greed of treasure (especially gold), subtle intelligence, immense cunning, great physical strength, and their eyes and words had a hypnotic power called "dragon-spell". Those who did not wish to be compromised by a dragon's speech did never give directly information, but talked vaguely and in riddles, since denying an answer, would anger it to violence.

While dragons were armoured with iron scales, they had a soft spot underneath, in the region of the chest, which could be pierced by blades or darts.[12][13]

Means of locomotion

Some dragons (Glaurung) walked on four legs, like a Komodo dragon or some other lizard. These must have been the most common type of dragons in the First Age, since the Winged-dragons only first appeared during the War of Wrath. These (such as Ancalagon and Smaug) could both walk on four legs and fly using wings. Breeds of wingless dragons did survive into later Ages.

Fire breathing

The Urulóki (singular Urulokë, Fire-drakes) could breathe fire. It is not entirely clear whether the term "Uruloki" referred only to the first dragons such as Glaurung that could breathe fire but were wingless, or to any dragon that could breathe fire, and thus include Smaug.

Dragon-fire (of the Urulóki) was hot enough to melt Rings of Power: four of the Seven Rings of the Dwarves were consumed by Dragon-fire, although it was not powerful enough to destroy the One Ring itself.[8]

Other versions of the Legendarium

In The Book of Lost Tales Part Two a legend among Men exists concerning dragons. Whoever tastes the heart of a dragon and can withstand its poisonous blood "would know all tongues of Gods or Men, of birds or beasts, and his ears would catch whispers of the Valar or of Melko".[17]

Other fiction

In the story Roverandom, white dragons are among the creatures living on the moon. A dragon, called the Great White Dragon, attacks Rover and the moon-dog, and is said to be the origin of all white dragons. In Merlin's time, this dragon had been to the earth, and fought with the Red Dragon in Caerdragon. The Great White Dragon has wings and can breath fire.[18]

The Dragon, which can have the ability to breathe fire and fly, is a powerful enemy of the Good players.[20] The game also includes the subterranean Cave Drake, a large but agile monster and natural enemy of the Dwarves.[21]

Dragon-kind includes several varieties: Cold-, Fire- and Shadow-drakes, Fire-worms, Rock-worms, and many more. Related beasts include the salamander, a weaker and simpler breed of dragons, the pygmy-sized dragonet, and the turtle-like avanc.[22]